The Masquerade
by Pretty Phenomenal
Summary: In a world where vampires and humans coexist. Ravyn Storm [OC] is new to town. She soon finds that a night out meeting new people will change her life. Rated M for violence and suggestive content. [OC/Shannon Moore, OC/Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles, Vampiro, Edge, Desmond Wolfe, Matt Hardy, Shane Helms, James Storm]
1. Chapter 1

The moon's reflection shines bright in the fountain outside of the picturesque mansion. The crunch of tires on gravel breaks the silence of the night. A black Volkswagen makes its way up the long driveway before slipping quietly into the subterranean two car garage. The overhead garage door closes as a woman in her mid twenties steps from the car. Her long black and purple hair cascades over her shoulders as she heads into the lower level of the house.

Boxes are strewn everywhere. It looks as though she has only recently moved in. She climbs the stairs to the main level and stops in the big open kitchen. She drops her car keys on the grey granite counter top. She opens the fridge door, taking out a glass bottle of dark red liquid. There's a pop as she removes the top and takes a long drink.

"Ugh," she grimaces. "This shit is awful cold."

Quickly, she chugs the rest before dumping the bottle into a bin beneath the sink. Her footsteps are almost silent as she makes her way up the stairs to her bedroom. The deep purple walls are a perfect accent for the black wooden furniture. She opens the door to her walk-in closet and begins thumbing through a wall of hangers. She decides on a low cut simple black shirt, a black and white plaid skirt and a pair of platform boots. She changes quickly and pulls a brush through her hair before touching up her makeup. When she's finally satisfied with her appearance she makes her way back downstairs. She stops to glance at her cell phone on the way out the door. No messages, she shakes her head. Maybe some day her maker will figure out technology.

She gets back into her car and tries to decide if she's going to go into the city or stay local. A quick look at the clock tells her that she will be staying local tonight. A trip to the city left too much opportunity to get stuck there by sunrise. The chance to explore some local options suited her just fine. She was new to the area and wasn't too familiar with the local vampire community. Her old hometown didn't have many kindred, which was part of the reason for her move. She was in the process of settling down and getting her new home ready for her family to move in with her. They had a few loose ends to tie up before they would be ready to move in.

She cruises down the town's main strip rolling her window down to listen, even though she doesn't have to. She passes by a few techno and hip hop clubs before settling on a more grungy punk rock sounding one. A few junkies tool around the sidewalk and a some people sit passed out against the wall of the building. She can't decide if they've been drained by another vampire or if they've just had too much drugs and alcohol. She parks her car around the side of the building and walks into the club. The club is busy. Immediately she notices that there is a good mixture of humans and vampires. Music blares through the speakers, the dance floor is well populated. She orders a drink at the bar and gives herself the chance to observe the occupants of the club.

The dance floor is set three steps down below the main seating area. Tables with chairs and a few high top cocktail tables line the bannister surrounding the dance floor. There are semi circle booths set deep into the wall for maximum privacy lining the two walls opposite the bar. They're all occupied, but two groups stand out to her. The first table has a group of five chatting and enjoying each others company. Two guys with long dark hair, a heavily tattooed man with a rainbow of colors in his hair who has the same features as one of the dark haired guy. He's next to a redheaded woman about the same age as her and another guy covering in tattoos and a black and white striped Mohawk spiked high. She smiles to herself thinking that they seem like a fun group.

She lets her gaze wander farther down the wall of tables. The second group of guys is headed by a man with long dark dreadlocks and a skeletal face. To his right are a man with a cowboy hat and beard and another with short hair and dark glasses. To his left a guy with his hood up letting it cover the most of his face. At the end of the booth is a man with long wavy blonde hair and a killer smile. He makes eye contact with her and pats the seat of the both between him and the guy with the hood. She waits for a moment before taking him up on the invitation. He stands and let's her slide into the booth before sitting back down.

"You just moved into the old Cromwell place," the man with the dreadlocks states more than asks.

A brief moment of confusion flutters over her, "How did you know that?"

"My name is Vampiro. I make it a point to know when new kindred move to the area," he grins. "Meet my children. To my right James and Desmond. To your left is Edge. And this is AJ."

"And what's your name dear?" Desmond asks with a thick British accent.

"Ravyn Storm," she states.

"Maybe you're my cousin," James laughs from under his cowboy hat.

AJ chuckles lifting his hood slightly, "No way your ugly mug is related to her." James stands up to slap at AJ who leans just out of his reach.

"Enough!" Vampiro hisses. "Are you here alone?"

She pauses before answering, "Tonight, yes."

She sits and observes Vampiro's clan for a while. Just trying to get a feel for their personalities. James and Desmond keep the drinks flowing. Edge asks her a few questions about her family, but nothing intrusive. She makes small talk with the group until a young woman makes her way up to the table and makes eye contact with Vampiro while flashing him her neck. He excuses himself and disappears with her into a private room.

"Fang banger," Edge answers her unasked question.

Once Vampiro is gone the boys seem to relax a bit. Desmond heads out to the dance floor with promises of tormenting some unsuspecting women. Edge offers to dance with Ravyn, but she politely declines. Slightly miffed, he leaves the table. James wanders off to the bar a minute later. She and AJ sit together awkwardly for a few minutes before she breaks the silence, "You're not like them are you?"

"What do you mean?" He asks pushing the hood off of his head to reveal shaggy brown hair and the beginning of a beard. "They're my family."

"Never mind," she dismisses the thought. "Come keep me company." She takes his hand and leads him down a set of stairs to the dance floor. They dance together for a few songs before she hears someone behind AJ.

"Cutting in Styles," the guy with the mohawk says tapping him on the shoulder. AJ tries to refuse, but he insists, sending AJ back to his table. She watches AJ almost throw a fit before stalking back to his table angrily. "Are you ok over there with them?"

She stammers, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I'm sorry," he apologizes. "Vampiro doesn't have the best reputation around these parts. He's kind of a tyrant." They dance for a few more songs before he smirks and says, "You looked like you might need saving from that crew."

She laughs, "AJ isn't bad. But the rest of them leave something to be desired."

"They're a bunch of douchebags," he states. "What's your name anyways?"

"Ravyn," she smirks.

"I'm Shannon," he smiles. "You should come meet my friends. I think you'll find them much more appealing than those guys." He leads her over to the table where his friends are sitting. She slides into the booth next to the girl with the red hair. "Guys, meet Ravyn. Ravyn this is Matt, Shane, Jeff and Jenn."

Matt and Shane are the two with longer dark hair. Matt's has a curl to it while Shane's is straighter. Shane has a Green Lantern tattoo on his shoulder. Next to him is Jeff. He's the one with the rainbow hair. His features are very similar to Matt's. Between her and Jeff is Jenn. Ravyn smiles at the group politely before Shannon speaks.

"Pretty sure I saved her from those jerks," he declares.

"Good job Prince," Matt approves.

The group openly talks with her. Already she can feel a huge difference between this group and Vampiro's. Shannon and his friends are much more laid back and friendly from the beginning.

"So you're from Calgary?" Shane asks.

"I am," she smiles. "Needed to get away for a bit. Thinking of moving my family down here eventually. But right now the change of scenery is nice."

"So you're here by yourself?" Jenn questions. "No wonder Vampiro was all over you!"

Ravyn just tilts her head quizzically hoping that someone will elaborate. "Vampiro has been trying to take over this area. He can't get The Council behind him until he has a large enough clan to claim dominance for this part of the state. He was probably hoping that you would be an easy convert and your clan would join up with him," Matt explains.

She snickers, "That would never happen. My maker would never tolerate that guy."

"I'm surprised that you put up with him for as long as you did," Shannon states.

"Luckily you came to my rescue," she flirts.

Their heads all turn as Vampiro makes his way back to his table. He glances from face to face and becomes visibly annoyed that Ravyn is gone. He looks around and sees her sitting with the other group. Rage fills his eyes. James, Desmond and Edge quickly throw AJ under the bus and blame him for her disappearance. Vampiro backhands AJ, sending him crashing to the floor. He gets up only for Vampiro to be right back on top of him punching him relentlessly. Ravyn has to look away. A feeling of dread sweeps over her as she realizes that in some way she has caused this to happen to him.

"He'll be okay," Shannon assures her. "AJ is resilient."

"Don't think that this is your fault in any way," Jenn tries to comfort her. "He chose them. There's not really anything we can do to help him now."

She leans into Shannon a bit feeling sorry for AJ, "But he doesn't deserve that. He's not like the rest of them."

The others nod, but agree with Jenn's answer. Ravyn tries to keep her mind off of AJ by watching the rest of the people in the club and chatting with her new friends. After another round of drinks Jenn and Jeff head down to the dance floor. Shannon looks at her and motions for her to follow them. She nods her head letting him take her hand and lead her there. They dance for a few songs, completely in tune with each other. That only changes when Ravyn notices that Edge has appeared on the floor. AJ and James weren't far from him. They're all dancing with random girls. Ravyn shoots Shannon a look.

"Are you sure?" He questions her.

She nods,"I just want to make sure he's okay."

"Ok," he understands. "But I won't be far. Just in case you need me."

Shannon watches skeptically as she turns to go to AJ. But she stops short, turning to kiss Shannon on the cheek before going. She taps AJ on the shoulder and he spins around expecting something bad. He relaxes when he sees that it's just her. She reaches a hand up to brush her thumb across a cut that has almost finished healing under his eye. He sighs and looks at the floor in embarrassment.

"You alright?" Her voice filled with concern.

"Yeah," he almost whispers. "I'll be fine. Are you okay with those guys?"

She nods, "Definitely."

AJ opens his mouth to say something when they hear a commotion behind them on the dance floor. They spin around to find Jeff and Edge at each other's throats. Quickly they make their way across the floor to see what was going on. AJ steps in front of her protectively and a second later Shannon appears over her shoulder. Jeff and Edge continue to go at it as a crowd begins to form. The girl who was dancing with Edge steps into the mix and swings her arm at Jeff's torso. He lets out an unexpected shriek of pain. Matt and Shane are at his side instantly. Jenn tries to calm him down every way she can but he continues to freak out. They realize the cause of his meltdown when they see a three inch long silver knife handle sticking out of his side. He keeps trying to grab for it but Jenn stops him, worried that he will do more damage ripping it out himself. Jeff's fangs flash as he writhes in pain. Matt quickly puts his coat over Jeff's shoulders and leads him outside. Edge turns away from the scene laughing. Ravyn quickly hugs AJ and takes Shannon's hand to follow his friends outside. Shannon pauses to shoot AJ a look of thanks. AJ nods in acknowledgment as they disappear.

Outside they find Jeff leaning against matts car, still crazed with pain. He fights with Matt and Shane to let him go back inside. They struggle with him for a moment before using almost all of their strength to force him into the back seat.

Matt glances around trying not to panic. "They're going to be out here any minutes," he stammers.

"Follow me to my place," Ravyn suggests. "They won't expect that."

Matt quickly weighs their options and nods in agreement. She and Shannon get her car and pull around for Matt to follow. She leads him on a series of switchbacks and and back roads to ensure that they aren't being followed. Finally she feels confident enough to drive to her home. She can see Shannon's eyes widen when her place comes into view. "I know," she smirks. "It's elaborate. But it's the only place that I could make the alterations that I needed." He nods, accepting her answer. She taps the garage door opener and guides her car into its spot. Matt pulls in beside her into the spacious garage. She touches the button again and lowers the overhead door. She starts guiding people to where they need to be as quickly as possible. She takes Jenn and Jeff to a bathroom on the garage level where they work on pulling the knife from his side with a pair of leather gardening gloves. The moment the knife is freed Jeff breathes a sigh of relief. He looks down to confirm that he isn't bleeding to death and sighs again letting out a nervous laugh. Ravyn gets him a towel and leaves him alone to get cleaned up. She takes the rest of the group upstairs to the living room to try and relax.

"The sun will be up soon," Matt worries aloud.

"Not a problem," Ravyn assures him. "The house is completely sunlight proofed. You'll be completely fine here during daylight hours."

"Really?" Jenn asks.

Ravyn nods, "It took a lot of work. But every room in the house is finally finished."

"We won't be able to make it home before sunrise," Shannon points out. "Are you sure it's okay if we stay here?"

"Absolutely," she smiles. "It'll be nice to have some company actually. Like a house warming party."

Jeff appears in the archway of the living room wearing only his jeans. "I really liked this shirt too," he looks down at the bloody crumpled piece of fabric dejectedly.

"I have some stuff upstairs that should fit you," Ravyn offers. "Come on. I'll give you guys the tour."

She leads them through the dining room and kitchen then up the black marble staircase to the upper level where the guest rooms are. She takes them to the first room on the right and rummages through a dresser. She stands up with a shirt with a comic book character on it.

"Sandman," Shane grins. "Nice."

"It's my brother's," she hands the shirt to Jeff. "You guys are welcome to any rooms up here. Mine is at the end of the hallway. If you aren't completely exhausted there's a media room down across from the garage. Movies, video games, that sort of thing. And please, help yourselves to anything in the kitchen."

Jenn and Jeff decide to go to bed while everyone else heads down to the game room to unwind. Ravyn flips a switch on the wall and the room hums to life. The walls are lined with arcade cabinets and in the center of the room are air hockey and foosball tables. Ravyn shows them a dark room off to the side where a large flat screen tv sits surrounded by DVDs and couches. The four of them switch on and off playing each other in air hockey. Shane gives up after his third straight loss and goes to bed. Finally they declare Matt the undefeated winner. After destroying everyone Matt yawns, stretching dramatically and heads upstairs. He waves to them on his way out reminding them not to stay up too late.

"So, what do you want to do?" Ravyn asks.

"I'm not really tired yet," Shannon admits. "Want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure," smiling, she leads him to the adjoining room and points at a large rack of DVDs. "Pick something."

He wanders over to the wall and begins to browse the selection while she starts up the TV. He snickers, "Do you really own every vampire movie ever made?"

"I do," she confirms giggling. "They're alphabetical too."

He thumbs through a few more cases before holding up a case, "let's go with a classic. John Carpenter's Vampires."

"Nothing like a little head eh Padre?" She quotes. "One of my favorites!"

They settle onto the couch and start the movie. They laugh together at the ridiculous depictions of vampires on the screen. They're enjoying each other's company and before long Ravyn is asleep with her head in Shannon's lap. He lets the movie finish before he carries her up to her room. He tucks her into bed and turns to leave when he feels her hand reach out and grab his.

"Stay," she yawns. "Please?"

He thinks it over before nodding and climbing into the bed next to her. She snuggles herself up next to him and rests her head in his chest. He wraps his arms arms around her and smiles to himself before letting himself fall asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Ravyn's alarm goes off at eight o'clock the next night. She stretches in her bed and rolls over, coming face to face with a half asleep Shannon. She smiles at him and brushes a piece of his fallen Mohawk out of his face. He pulls her closer to him and kisses her gently. Blinking she leans in and returns his kiss. They stay wrapped up in each other a little longer before deciding that they should check in with the others. They head downstairs to find Jeff and Jenn lounging in the living room on one of the couches. Jeff is clearly feeling much better after getting some rest. The four of them hear Matt and Shane coming up from the game room. Shane proclaims himself the Power Stone 2 champion. They all just hang out and chat until Matt gets up and starts pacing the kitchen.

"Something isn't right," he claims. "I don't know what. But something is wrong. We should go home."

"Do you want to come?" Shannon invites her to their home. "We're probably going back out later if you want to join us."

"I'd like that," she smiles. "The sun will be down completely in a few minutes. Let me get cleaned up and I'll follow in my car."

They sit in their cars waiting for the sun to finish setting before opening the garage doors. When it's finally time Ravyn taps the door opener and follows Matt from the garage. He leads her on the most direct route to their home. Shannon sits at her side in the passenger seat nervously. She reaches over and places a hand on his knee to reassure him. The woods start to grow thicker around them as they get farther out of town. There is a faint glow in the distance. Matt's car picks up the pace and speeds towards the strange light. Ravyn follows, hot on his heels. Shannon balls up a fist angrily as his home comes into view. Flames shoot out of the second story windows. He's out of the car before she can even come to a complete stop. Along with everyone in Matt's car he tears into the house. They're out a few minutes later, each with an armful of their possessions.

"We need to get out of there before the cops show up," Matt huffs.

"Come back to my place," Ravyn insists. "We'll regroup and go from there." Matt nods a thank you and gets back into his car to follow her back home.

Ravyn sighs heavily. "This isn't your fault," Shannon tells her. "They've been trying to find our home for a long time."

She puts a hand on his leg as he stares at the small pile of items in his lap. They ride in shocked silence back to her place. When they arrive they group decides that tonight is probably better spent in. They all head off to separate rooms trying to wrap their minds around losing everything that they had. Shannon and Ravyn end up outside in the garden patio just chatting. The night air is cool enough for them to be sitting on the wicker couch snuggling together.

"You've known these guys a long time huh?" She guesses.

"Yeah," he agrees. "Matt and Jeff are brothers. Shane was one of our best friends growing up. We all lived in the same town."

"So why does everyone call you Prince?" She wonders aloud.

"The full title is The Prince of Punk," he laughs. "Probably because of my punk rock fashion sense, or love of the music, the tattoos, or my ridiculous Mohawk. Who knows, I like it though."

She smiles, "It does fit you rather well."

"What about you?" He prods. "What's your family like?"

She hesitates slightly, "My brother is my maker. Then we've got three others in our little clan that we picked up along the way. "

They continue to make small talk watching the fireflies and listening to the crickets.

The next evening the group prepares to go out to the club. They're all gathered in the kitchen and attached dining room. Ravyn looks at each of their fallen faces. "I know somehow what happened last night has something to do with me," she stammers. "And I want you all to know that you're welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like." She tosses Matt her spare key.

"Thank you," Matt nods. "They've been following us, trying to track us back to our home, for months. They probably thought that we would be there fixing Jeff up last night. In reality you may have saved us."

Jeff looks at her with sincerity in his eyes,"We promise not to over stay our welcome."

"We truly appreciate this," Jenn agrees.

"Just let me know if you need anything," Ravyn offers.

"Let's go out and try to have a good time at least," Shane suggests.

They head down to the garage and get into their cars. Shannon rides with Ravyn and everyone else is in Matt's car. Matt backs out of the garage and starts down the long driveway. Shannon stops her before she can shift into reverse. She looks over at him questioningly. She watches intently as he pulls something out of his pocket.

"I want you to have this," he says slightly unsure of himself. "I know it doesn't look like much, but it's really special to me."

He opens his hand to reveal a simple, yet beautiful teardrop shaped emerald pendant. He looks at her hopefully and she nods in excitement. A sigh of relief passes through his lips as he loosens the black cord enough to slip over her head. She looks down to admire the glimmering stone before leaning in to kiss him.

"Thank you," she almost whispers as she tightens the cord up a bit. "It's beautiful."

He reaches out to take her hand as she drives into town. They arrive only a few minutes after Matt and the group. Everyone heads to their usual empty booth. They're all a bit on edge until they scan the building to find that Vampiro's clan is nowhere to be seen. Shannon, Shane and Matt head to the bar to get everyone drinks. Ravyn and Jeff begin an intense debate about hair dye brands when Jenn interrupts them.

"Did the Prince give you that?" She exclaims, pointing to the emerald pendant.

"He did," Ravyn confirms.

Jeffs eyes grow wide, "Damn, he must really like you."

Ravyn looks at them skeptically. "It belonged to his mother," Jenn lets her in on the secret. "I've never seen it out of his possession."

"He did say that it was really special to him," Ravyn reaches to touch the gem lovingly. "But he never said why."

"His mother, his vampire mother... His maker," Jeff clarifies.

Ravyn lets out a heavy sigh, "Wow."

As she takes a minute to contemplate the piece of knowledge that Jenn and Jeff have dropped on her, Vampiro walks in with his clan. They walk directly past Shannon, Matt and Shane. Shannon visibly considers attacking one of them before Matt and Shane step in front of him to curb any potential violence. The guys return to the table, Shannon almost trembling with fury. Ravyn reaches out to tilt his chin and make him look at her. She leans over to kiss him gently, attempting to distract him from his current murderous thoughts. He lets out a deep breath and starts to relax. She rests her head on his shoulder while he wraps an arm around her protectively.

"It's probably safe to assume that you've been to The Council," Ravyn only sort of asks.

Shannon huffs,"Yeah, lot of good that did."

"There's nothing they can do," Matt tells her sadly. "Vampiro is incredibly good at covering his tracks. He never leaves any evidence so there's nothing to support our case."

"Looks like he left tracks all over AJ," Shane says in surprise as AJ lifts his hood at his table.

Ravyn's gaze follows Shane's and she gasps as she sees what he's talking about. The right side of AJ's face is completely bruised up. It's obvious that he's trying to cover it with his longish hair.

"Vampiro must have almost killed him to get him that bruised up," Jeff concludes.

"I hope he's okay," Ravyn barely manages to squeak out. Shannon squeezes her tightly to try and comfort her.

The next few nights pass quickly. Ravyn gets to spend a lot of time with Shannon and his friends. She begins to feel completely at ease with them. Shane has become her greatest video game rival. At least once a night they try to beat each other's high scores. She discovers that she loves having Jenn around too. It was not terribly often that she got to have actual girl time.

Any night where they went out she tried to keep in touch with AJ. He told her all about the beating he had received after refusing to help Vampiro and his clan burn down Shannon's home. He felt terrible that it had happened and Vampiro made him pay for that. They had to be incredibly sneaky when hanging out. They both knew there would be hell to pay if they were caught, and Ravyn didn't want to see him get hurt because of her. Shannon always stayed close by when she was with AJ, making sure they wouldn't be found out. If he saw anyone coming he would turn and pull her close to him, allowing AJ to sneak away unnoticed. AJ and Shannon had formed a unique friendship. Each of them looking out for the other, even though they were part of opposing clans. Ravyn and Shannon worked hard to try and get AJ to leave Vampiro. He seemed to be seriously considering it. They talked over a few different ways to get him out safely. But every scenario ended in Vampiro's death. None of them were ready to become murderers.

Shannon plays with Ravens hair as she sits on his lap the next night at the club. Vampiro and his clan walk in and sit at their normal booth putting Shannon on edge. Ravyn looks over to see AJ in a knit hat and dark glasses. He lifts his hood for a moment, then sets it back down, almost sulking in his seat. Usually he would have at least glanced over at their table. Instead he just sits with his hood up, almost hiding.

Ravyn looks at Shannon and whispers,"Something's up."

"I don't like it," he nods in agreement.

They keep and eye on him all night, but he remains at the table, not even looking their way. Eventually Shannon leads Ravyn down to the dance floor to see if they can lure AJ out. They having fun dancing with Jenn and Jeff when the notice Edge and Desmond on the other side of the dance floor with a couple of girls. Jeff goes back the their table just moments before Shannon feels hand on his shoulder. He spins around defensively to find himself face to face with Vampiro. Shannon steps protectively in front of Ravyn. As he reaches behind himself to grab her hand he's met with nothing. He turns back around to see where she is only to find her struggling in Edge and Desmond's grip. He snarls, fangs out, and goes after Edge. But before he can get near him Vampiro thrusts an elbow into the back of his neck crumpling him to the floor. It takes a moment for Matt and Jeff to get to him. By the time they can help him to his feet Vampiro and his clan are gone... with Ravyn.

"Where is she?" Shannon yells. "Where the fuck is she Jeff!?"

Matt looks down at his feet, "He took her. I wasn't fast enough."

"Where did they take her," Shannon fumes.

"I don't know Prince," Jess asks his head. "They were gone so fast."

Shannon brushes Jeff's hand off of his shoulder, "I'm going after her."

"Don't be ridiculous," Matt scolds. "We don't even know where they went."

Shannon sinks to a chair next to the dance floor. He looks up at Matt and Jeff with heartbreak in his eyes. "We have to find her," he pleads. "She's the best thing to happen to me since meeting you guys."

"Don't worry Prince," Jeff assures him. "Vampiro will be back. He'll want to flaunt this little victory."

A look of rage passes over Shannon's eyes, "If he touches her.. I swear I will stake him faster than he can blink."

"He won't hurt her," Matt promises. "He needs her. I think he anticipates her family joining up with him if he has her."

"That's an awful plan," Shannon grimaces. "We have to go to The Council."

"Let's drop everyone else off. Then you and I can go to The Council," Matt suggests.

Shannon agrees and rounds up the rest of their friends. Shane, Jenn and Jeff wish them luck as they're left at the doorstep of Ravyn's home. Shannon stares out the window snapping a hair elastic against his wrist the entire way to the Council building. As they pass the club he looks into the parking lot to see that Vampiro took Ravyn's car with them. He's at the edge of his seat when Matt finally parks the car. The building itself looks like any normal, boring, office building. While many humans have accepted that vampires exist, some were just not ready to embrace them. The building would be easily overlooked by those people, because of its simplicity. They walk inside and a secretary sitting at a metal desk points them to a large wooden door to her right without even looking up. As they walk through the door they see another desk with a blonde woman sitting at it. She looks up to greet them.

"Can I help you?" She smiles politely.

"We need information on a vampire," Matt starts. "Is there a way to do that?"

"I'm sorry sir," the woman apologizes. "We aren't allowed to give out any personal information."

Matt sighs as Shannon paces behind him,"Is there anyone we can talk to?"

"She's been kidnapped," Shannon pipes in, hoping to change her mind.

"Just have a seat," she tells them as she types on her keyboard. "Someone will be with you in a few minutes."

Matt sits in one of the hard plastic waiting room chairs while shannon paces anxiously in front of him. Matt watches him go from one side of the room to the other for nearly ten minutes, not even thinking to suggest that he sit down. Matt is soon distracted by a man with long blonde hair in a button up shirt and jeans. He recognizes him as one of the three members of The Council, Chris Jericho. Jericho feels Matt's gaze on him, looks over and smiles.

"Do you guys want to come into the office?" He gestures to the big double doors behind him.

They follow him into the spacious room. A large round table sits in the center of the floor. Two others sit on one side of the table shuffling through papers and typing on laptop keyboards. One has blonde hair with dark roots and a dark beard, Steve Corino. The other, a dark haired serious looking man with a crew cut. He could only be Lance Storm. Matt and Shannon sit down across the table from the three Council members.

"So what can we do for you?" Jericho asks as he sits down behind the third computer. "Mona says you're looking for information on someone."

"You know we can't just give out personal information, right?" Lance warns sternly.

"Yes," Matt nods. "Her name is Ravyn. She's been kidnapped?"

Corino looks at him, unsure if he's telling the truth, "By whom?"

"Vampiro," Matt answers bluntly.

Jericho shakes his head in frustration, "You guys just can't get along can you? Every other month you're in here with a complaint about his clan. Who's to say she was even kidnapped?"

"Considering that Vampiro burned our house down a few days ago and she graciously let us move into her home. I highly doubt that she actually wanted to go with him," Matt tries to hold back his anger.

"We can run her through the database," Lance offers. "Name and hometown?"

"Ravyn. R-A-V-Y-N. Storm," Shannon jumps in. "She's from Calgary."

"Ok, Ravyn with a Y," Lance types. "Storm. From Calgary, Alberta... Canada." He clicks a few more buttons and watches the screen intently. "This may take a few minutes," he admits.

"What can we do about getting her home safely?" Matt presses.

"If she is, in fact, being held against her will then we can intervene. However," Corino pauses. "As you are all too aware. Vampiro is a master of manipulation. I can only imagine that this is some scheme to empower himself and his clan. He's not going to make this easy to track."

"I think he anticipates her family aligning with his clan just because she's with him," Matt theorizes.

"I wouldn't put that past him," Jericho wrinkles his nose in disgust. "He did burn your house down afterall."

"Where are you guys staying, by the way?" Corino asks Shannon, as if to double check what Matt had said earlier.

Shannon looks at him sadly,"Ravyn let us move into her place. She was with us when we found our house burning." Jericho nods, coming to the realization that there was almost complete certainty that Ravyn did not want to be with Vampiro.

Lance looks up from his computer. "Nothing," he says quietly. "She's not in our system at all. I can try and make a few phone calls for you guys. It may be a few days to get anywhere. So for now it would be in your best interest to try and talk things out with Vampiro civilly."

"Thanks," Matt says dejectedly. "We'll try."

He and Shannon shake everyone's hands before leaving the building. When they step outside they realize how close to dawn it is. Matt drives back to the mansion quickly. Upon their return Shannon goes directly to Ravyn's room while Matt explains the situation to everyone else.


	3. Chapter 3

Ravyn is ushered into the living room of a large brownstone with a huge bay window. It's at this moment, looking out of that big window, that she learns that Vampiro lives in the city on the opposite side of town from her home. His home is a five story brownstone. Three of those floors are subterranean and fully functional during daylight hours. The other two are only used after the sun goes down. AJ had tried keeping an eye on her as best he could during the kidnapping. He had ridden in the back seat of her car with her while James drove them to Vampiro's home. James guides her by the shoulder, turning her away from the window to taker her down to the first underground level.

As her feet touch the ground on the middle level of the house she's slammed up against the wall opposing the steps. Desmond manages to pin both of her arms above her head with one of his hands. His free hand caresses her cheek and trails down her neck. He presses himself up against her body while she squirms to try and get free.

"Don't bother," he laughs coldly. "I'm way older, and way stronger than you."

She struggles against his grip and he moves his free hand down along her side and to her lower back. His fangs grow longer and a hunger takes over his eyes. James just chuckles from the base of the staircase. Desmond leans his head down to nip at her neck. She tries everything she can to get away from him, but he just overpowers her. Before Desmond can do any damage a blur appears from down the hallway. It knocks Desmond into the wall next to Ravyn. It's AJ. His fangs are barred and he's unleashing on Desmond. They trade a few more blows before James pulls them apart.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Desmond hisses.

"Don't touch her," AJ demands. "She's mine."

Desmond's gaze shifts between AJ and Ravyn, "I don't see anything marking her as yours. If your going to claim her you'd better hurry up."

"I didn't get a chance before you attacked her," AJ spit venomously. "Get out of here."

Desmond brushes his shoulder, "Next time I see her she had better be marked. Or she's mine." Desmond and James both retreat to their rooms down the hallway.

AJ looks Ravyn in the eye and puts a hand behind her head gently. "Are you ok?" He asks worriedly. She nods a timid yes and he pulls her into a tight hug. It takes her a few moments to get over the shock of what had just happened before she can manage to hug him back. "Come on, let me show you to the spare room."

He leads her down to the next level. The hallways are ornately decorated with rich colors and intricate woodwork. The home is the epitome of opulence. The spare room is nice. But the room across the hall catches her eye. Cerulean blue walls and black wood furniture.

"This is your room," she observes. He nods confirmation. "May I?" She asks his permission to check out his room.

He gestures for her to go ahead into the room. She takes her time looking at the trinkets and trophies he has on display. Admiring how human he still seems. She stops to admire a piece of artwork on the wall when he steps up to her side.

"Really," he asks. "Are you ok?"

"As okay as I can be." She sighs. "Physically I'm fine. But mentally I'm a wreck. And I'm worried about Shannon."

AJ nods understandingly, "I'm sure The Prince is much more concerned with your well being. I'm sorry for ignoring you guys all night. I was trying not to let Vampiro think that there was anything going on with us. I didn't want to get kicked out and leave you alone with these dicks."

"We knew something wasn't right," she admits. "Just didn't know what."

He shakes his head, knowing exactly the feeling she describes. "We should be getting to sleep soon though," he suggests.

She nods and he leads her across the hallway to the spare room. It's not as ornately decorated as the rest of the house. Simple dark wood furniture and linens with deep hues. Ravyn tenses up as she explores the spare room. AJ notices and turns to find Vampiro looking over his shoulder. AJ goes to stammer out an answer for a question that has yet to be asked, but Vampiro speaks first.

"You keep an eye on her," he demands. "I've got enough to keep me busy." AJ nods. "Don't fuck this up kid," Vampiro turns to walk away but stops himself. "And if you don't want the others all over her you'd better lay claim to her soon."

"Yes sir," AJ says solemnly.

When Vampiro seems satisfied he continues down the hallway to the last set of descending stairs and disappears. AJ turns back to Ravyn and lets out a huge sigh of relief.

"Looks like we're having a sleep over," Ravyn tries to smile.

AJ smirks, "Guess so. You can stay in my room if you'd like. This bed is horribly uncomfortable. And there's no TV in here."

She smiles, happy to not have to be alone in Vampiro's house. She follow AJ back across the hallway to his room and he closes his door behind him. He turns the TV on for some mindless background noise. They lay across his bed short ways with their feet dangling off of the side. AJ tells her all about growing up in the south and she teaches him about the true north. They cover almost every subject they can think of. Ravyn finally touches on a subject that AJ is uncomfortable with.

"Hey," she starts. "What were the other guys talking about earlier. Claiming me?"

He shakes his head, for the first time looking genuinely upset. "It's this fucked up thing Vampiro made up," he says angrily. "He has the guys lay claim to a vampire we've recruited. And I use that phrase loosely. He has us claim humans too. But in your case he either wants me to sleep with you or scar you permanently. Claiming you as mine. Once I claim you the other guys can't. They can't touch you. They can't hurt you. You're basically off limits to them."

"So is this something that only happens for women?" Ravyn starts asking questions as the list grows in her head. "How does he expect to scar me? Vampires don't scar."

"Well, somehow he has figured out a way," AJ starts to lift up his shirt. He pulls it up over his head and leans back so she can see the small "V" scarred into his side at the top of his rib age under his left arm.

She reaches out and runs a finger over the scar, "But how?"

"It's some ridiculous concoction of Holy Water, liquid silver and some other things," he explains. "It hurt like a bitch when he did it. It's healed a bit since then. But I'm pretty sure it's going to be permanent."

Ravyn gulps, "So what should we do?"

"I'm not going to ask you to sleep with me. And I'm not about to force you to either," he assures her. "If you want me to scar you I can. And I can understand if you want no part of it."

"But without it there's nothing to stop the others if you aren't around," she takes the words out of his mouth.

"Unfortunately," he concludes.

Ravyn puts a hand on top of his, "I can't fight them off on my own. If a bit of pain and a little scar can improve my chances of survival here... I'll do it."

"You sure?" AJ asks.

Ravyn shakes her head in agreement. He stands up and rummages the trough his closet for a few minutes coming back with a small leather case. He unravels the string keeping it shut. He dumps the contents onto the bed revealing a small metal dish, a bottle of liquid and a foot long miniature branding iron with AJ's initials on it. The initials were even kind of cute. The right side of the uppercase A continues to become the hook of the J.

She picks up the iron and examines it closer, "You've never even used this."

"No," AJ admits. "I've never felt the need to claim someone. Vampiro thrives on power and ownership. I'm sure your friends told you that he intends on ruling this area."

"They may have mentioned that," she tells him.

"Well, they weren't imagining it," AJ confirms. "He's not afraid to hurt or even kill to advance his power." AJ lights a candle , sets the small metal dish next to it and squirts a bit of the silver liquid in after shaking the bottle sufficiently. "Where do you want it?" He asks nervously.

She watches him heat the iron over the candle flame while she tries to decide. She lifts her shirt off the same way AJ had earlier. "Right here," she points to almost the same spot as his. Directly below her bra at the top of her rib cage.

"That's probably the most painful spot you can pick," he warns her.

"We'll match," she insists.

He half smiles with a twinge of guilt, "Okay, lay down and get as comfortable as you can. I'm probably going to have to hold you down. And it IS going to hurt."

She gets close to the edge of the bed so he doesn't have to go as far with the hot iron. He twists the iron in the flame and when he feels that it has reached the appropriate temperature he dips it into the dish containing the silver liquid. Ravyn swallows nervously as he stands over her. He swings a leg over her and leans down into her so she can't squirm. Before either one of them can hesitate he presses the glowing iron into her cold flesh. She starts to wiggle and has to lean forward to hold her shoulders down with his spare hand. Her fangs extend and a pain induced rage fills her eyes. He struggles to keep the iron in place, hating to see her in pain like this. A few seconds later he flings the rapidly cooling piece of steel across the room in anger. It clangs noisily to the floor in the corner. He climbs over her into the center of the bed and pulls her close to him. He kisses her forehead and holds her tightly, telling her how sorry he is over and over again.

The door to AJ's room swings open just after sundown the next night. Edge stands in the doorway with hungry eyes. Ravyn jumps out of bed defensively, realizing AJ is nowhere to be found. Edge stalks into the room and stands in front of her. He reaches a hand to her face and tilts her chin up to look at him. She bares her fangs, warning him to leave her alone. He snickers, knowing that he could easily over power her. AJ walks in a moment later with a glass of red liquid. He immediately puts himself between Edge and Ravyn. She stands close behind him, relieved that she showed up when he did. He reaches his free arm behind him to hold her hand.

"You two look awfully friendly," Edge smirks.

"She's not a prisoner," AJ spits. "Vampiro told me to watch her."

"Maybe it's time for you to take a break," Edge laughs. "Time for someone else to have a go at her."

AJ's fangs emerge, "Back off. I've already claimed her." He pulls her in between them and lifts the side of her shirt to show the scar he had burned into her the night before.

"Be ready in two hours. We're going out," Edge huffs turning and leaving the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Sorry," AJ apologizes handing her the glass. "I got you breakfast."

She smiles in appreciation siping the warm liquid. "I think I have an idea," she tells him. "I think we should pretend that we're together. We've got to make it really convincing though."

The thought clearly makes him feel uneasy, "What about The Prince?"

"I'd like to think that he trusts me," she hopes. "But in case we're too convincing I've always got this." She lifts the small green pendant to show AJ. "He gave this to me."

AJ agrees that they can make it work, "Let's go see what kind of bullshit we have to deal with tonight."

He leads her up the stairs only to be stared down by the others. Vampiro looks them up and down, skeptical of their apparent bond.

"So are you going to share your new toy with your family?" Vampiro jokes, expecting to see that he has yet to claim her.

"No," AJ pulls her in from of him roughly and lifts her shirt just enough to show the others his mark. "This one is all mine."

Vampiro's face is a mixture of disbelief and smugness, "About time you finally laid claim to something. Get her something new to wear. We leave in an hour."

AJ leads her through the center of the group as if to show off his catch. They make some snarky comments about AJ finally having a piece of property. Ravyn ignores them , just happy to know that they won't touch her. She reaches her hand up to touch the scar. It's still tender. AJ opens the door to a large walk in closet and flicks a switch on the wall.

"Take anything you want," he tells her. "Everything is clean. The owners.. Won't be needing them back.

She shakes her head at his silly joke and begins browsing the racks. She picks out a few things and they head back to AJ's room to get changed. He offers to leave and let her get changed in private, but she just brushes him off. They get dressed. AJ in jeans and a blue shirt with a zip up hoodie. Ravyn ends up in a cute corset top, short vinyl skirt and a pair of fishnets with her platform boots. AJ stifles a giggle.

"I look like food, don't I?" She half laughs.

"Yep," he chuckles. "Not to say that you don't look great. But you definitely look like food."

She tosses a pillow at him playfully. "We're really going to have to be convincing tonight," she reminds him. "I don't think your family quite believes us."

"Don't worry. We'll make it believable," he states. "Just tell me if we're taking it too far. I'm probably going to have to be an asshole."

She assures him that she will. Vampiro sends them down to Ravyn's car with James as a chaperone. Still not quite trusting them. James is appointed as their driver to ensure that Ravyn doesn't just try to go home. Her and AJ climb into the back seat, sitting as close as possible. James turns the key and revs the engine a few times. He chuckles to himself, enjoying the chance to drive. He peels out of the parking spot and Ravyn has to grab for AJ's hand. She grips it tightly as James speeds recklessly through the streets.

"Easy, Cowboy," she cautions. "I happen to like this car."

James just laughs and continues to zip between traffic towards the club. They pull into the lot before Vampiro. James parks the car and they get out. He's leaning against the trunk when Vampiro finally pulls in.

He walks up to James angrily. "This is why I don't let you drive!" He fumes. "Don't do it again."

James' face falls, "Sorry boss."

Vampiro leads them into the club to to their usual booth. AJ pulls Ravyn close to him roughly and Vampiro smirks with approval. Shortly after they settle in Ravyn's friends appear in the doorway. Ravyn's eyes lock onto Shannon. He looks terrible. He hasn't even bothered to spike his Mohawk. Instead he's hiding under a backwards baseball hat and dark sunglasses. AJ has to pinch Ravyn to keep her attention off of Shannon.

Shannon sits down next to Shane, who is busy doodling something on a napkin. Shannon doesn't even try to look for Ravyn. He's too upset knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from running to her. Matt wanders over and sets a hand on his shoulder. He tries to give him some sort of comfort. Shannon looks up at him sadly. Watching Jeff and Jenn together isn't helping his somber mood.

"Whoa," Shane gasps. "Looks like you've been replaced Prince."

"Huh?" Shannon looks at him, perplexed.

Shane points across the floor to Vampiro's table. Shannon's heart drops at what he sees. Ravyn is sitting on AJ's lap with her fingers in his hair, letting him kiss her. Shannon is half a breath away from jumping over the table in a fit of rage when AJ makes eye contact with him. AJ gently kisses her neck making sure that Shannon can see that she's still wearing his necklace. With a wink AJ returns his attention to his own table. Shannon smiles to himself, laughing a bit, his friends have concerned looks creeping across their faces.

"You okay, Prince?" Jeff asks carefully.

"Perfect," Shannon grins. When everyone looks confused he realizes that he will have to explain. "Don't you guys see?" He subtly motions to Ravyn and AJ. "She's still wearing my necklace." They still looked lost. "They're acting," he says bluntly.

When they all see that he's right they relax a bit. "She probably has more freedom if she pretends to be one of them," Shane concludes.

"You picked a smart one, Prince," Matt chuckles.

The group discusses their plan of attack. They has promised The Council that they would try to resolve the issue civilly. Determined to try and make things work with Vampiro they make a plan to talk to him. If being civil didn't work they would have to come up with something else.

Matt and Shannon stand up. "We're going over there," Matt states. "If we don't get her back tonight.. Then it's us..." He looks over at Vampiro's table dramatically. ".. Versus them." They turn and cross the busy club.


	4. Chapter 4

If you enjoyed this story let me know! There is a sequel that I'll gladly post if people are interested.

Ravyn tries her hardest to contain herself as Matt and Shannon approach their table. She attempts to focus herself on AJ, tuning out what Matt is saying entirely, so she doesn't seem so desperate to get back to Shannon. But a moment later Edge delivers a stiff punch to her Prince's jaw. Ravyn nearly leaps over the table to go after Edge, but AJ holds her back. Vampiro sees her concern and backhands her across the face sending her sprawling onto AJ. Vampiro's hit causes Shannon to lose it. He goes after Vampiro, teeth bared. Matt manages to pull him back just long enough to issue a challenge to Vampiro, who accepts with a smug laugh. Matt drags Shannon back to the table and their group leaves the club shortly after.

Vampiro turns to look AJ dead in the eye. "If you can't keep your pet under control, I suggest you try something a little more effective," he snarls, dropping a black velvet bag onto the table. "Go on."

AJ picks up the bag and peers inside to find a silver chain. He can tell that this is a test and he knows that Ravyn will understand. He turns the bag inside out, spilling the chain onto the table. Using the velvet bag as a glove he picks up the chain and gently drapes it across her thighs. Immediately her flesh begins to bubble and burn under the silver. She writhes in pain until her lower body becomes immobile. Silver, while not deadly, drains a vampire's energy and acts as a restraint. A vampire can't remove silver from themselves and must rely on someone else to free them. She looks at him, understanding exactly why he had to do it, but wishing that he hadn't.

Vampiro, Desmond and Edge wander off to cause trouble elsewhere in the club. James stands up from the table, but remains close by. AJ pulls Ravyn close to him careful not to let the silver touch him.

"Remember you asked me to tell you if you took it too far?" She grumbles through gritted teeth. "Too far."

He half smiles at her attempt to lighten the mood and just holds her close to him whispering apologies any time the silver shifts causing new burns. Vampiro keeps them at the club for a few more hours, as if he wants to torture her with the silver. When they finally leave AJ carries her to the car with the chain still embedded in her legs. He delicately sets her down into the back seat. As he tries to figure out how he's going to remove the silver Vampiro slaps a pair of black leather gloves into his chest. He takes them gratefully and slides into the back seat with her. James starts the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. Any attempt to remove the chain is thwarted by James' insane driving. Ravyn is in too much pain to even sass him about being careful with her car. The moment they're parked AJ scoops her up and takes her down to his room. He carefully puts her down on the bed and locks the door behind them.

He starts to apologize again but she shushes him, "Just get this shit off of me."

He slips the black gloves onto his hands and gets to work removing the chain, trying to do as little damage as he can. Deep crevices of burned flesh remain where the silver had been. Once it's clear of her skin he drops the chain back into the velvet bag and throws it across the room angrily. Ravyn grimaces in pain as her body slowly begins to heal itself. AJ pulls her into his arms as she tries to fight sobs. A bloody tear falls to the bed. Ravyn lifts her head to look AJ in the eye. She reaches up to wipe a red tear from his eye before kissing his cheek.

"I'm okay," she promises him. "Really. I'll be fine."

"I know. But that's not the point," he grumbles. "I had to hurt you tonight in front of everyone. I'm not willing to play this game again. We're getting out of this tomorrow, one way or another. I promise."

She holds him tight, appreciating that he's willing to make that kind of sacrifice for her. They crawl into bed and pull the covers up over their heads. They talk for a little while longer about their escape plan. Eventually Ravyn falls asleep with AJ's head on her shoulder.

The next night they awake and dress for battle. AJ had heard Matt's challenge and knew that there would be no club tonight. Before they leave his room AJ grabs the velvet bag of chain and slips it into his pocket. He pulls Ravyn close and hugs her tightly. He can tell by the look in her eyes that she's ready to fight.

"Remember, I've got to be on Vampiro's team at the beginning of this," he reminds her. "Once is starts, we won't let him win."

She nods as she watches him psych himself up to be an asshole. He unlocks the door and shoots her a wink before grabbing her roughly by the wrist. She fakes protest in disdain the entire way as he drags her to the car. AJ pretends to be angry with her for her behavior the night before. James buys every moment of their act. James follows Vampiro's car to some remote location outside of town. It's far enough away from any residential areas that they wouldn't be heard. The area looks like an abandoned industrial park. Concrete warehouse buildings surround a large blacktop parking lot. There are rusted out abandoned cars all over, making it look more like a junkyard than and industrial park. Vampiro gets everyone out of the cars and gets them ready for a fight.

They're leaning against the cars as Matt pulls into the lot. Shannon is the first one out of the vehicle. The Mohawk is spiked up and he's got war paint smeared on his face. Jeff is at his side painted up like some sort of demon that only he could imagine. Matt, Jenn and Shane stand just behind them. They're eyes are almost glowing with rage. Shannon looks over at Ravyn before standing nose to nose with AJ. Luckily no one can hear their conversation, because the battle has begun.

AJ tells Shannon his plan between hisses and growls as they pretend to brawl with each other. Ravyn runs to Jenn to help her contend with James. Jeff is busy dragging Edge's face across the pavement. He drop to his knees and slams Edge's face into the asphalt a few time. Matt is trying to fend off Vampiro, but he's not strong enough. AJ sees that the time is drawing close. Jenn has James under control for the time being so Ravyn runs to help Matt. She drops to her hands and knees behind Vampiro. Matt shoves him backwards over Ravyn and he falls to the ground. He goes down with a thud from their school yard tactic. When he gets back to his feet he's shaking with fury. Matt launches himself at him with fists flying. He's quickly tossed to the side and Vampiro turns his focus to Ravyn. He grabs her by the throat and picks her high up off the ground. She scratches and kicks at him doing little more than successfully shredding his shirt. He laughs at her efforts as she kicks at him again. When he grows bored he throws her painfully onto the hood of a nearby car.

AJ and Shannon have to resist the urge to run to her side. Shane and Matt descend on Vampiro, leaving Shannon to deal with Desmond. AJ stands tall, ready to make his move. As he maneuvers himself behind Matt and Shane he feels a strong hand on his shoulder. He's spun around and comes face to face with a vampire he's never seen before. He has long dirty blonde curls and muscular tattooed arms. AJ prepares to defend himself when he hears Ravyn yell.

"Scotty, not him!" She struggles to sit up on the hood of the car. "Dread locks."

AJ breathes a sigh of relief as the man removes his hand and turns for Vampiro. He tackles Vampiro to the ground and hovers over his chest for a moment. Then he starts unleashing punch after punch to Vampiro's head and upper body. When the rest of his clan sees Vampiro clearly outmatched they swarm his attacker. He tosses Edge through the windshield of a car with ease. Desmond and James prove to be a bit more of an issue. Vampiro begins to stir behind the fighting trio. AJ slips a black glove onto his hand and pulls the velvet bag from his pocket.

Shannon sees what he's doing and falls to his hands and knees on AJ's side of the three men fighting. AJ takes off running towards them. He steps up onto Shannon's back and dives over them. Twisting through the air he takes Vampiro out just as he had gotten back to his feet. AJ pulls the silver chain for the bag with his gloved hand and drapes it across Vampiro's bare chest. His flesh begins to burn, instantly sticking him to the spot. With their leader subdued the rest of his clan is taken out quickly as everyone else works as a team.

AJ picks up a piece of splintered wood and walks over to Vampiro snarling. "Thanks for the silver," AJ sneers. "Works like a charm." He raises the make shift stake over Vampiro's chest, but pauses when he feels Ravyn's hand on his.

"Don't be like him," she advises. "You're better than this." He sighs, knowing that she's right. But before he can drop the stake it's taken from his hand. "Scott..." Ravyn's voice trails off.

She watches him lift Vampiro's head by the dread locks, silver still stuck in his flesh. He drags him around the corner of one of the cement buildings, out of sight of the group. They hear a primal scream followed by a bright flash of light, then nothing. A moment later the man Ravyn had called Scott comes back around the corner of the building. Ravyn walks up to him and hugs him tightly. The group looks on curiously as she leads him back to where the others had gathered.

"Guys, this is Scott," she explains. "My brother. My maker." She introduces him to everyone, though he feels like he knows them already.

He turns to face AJ and Shannon, "Thank you. I know you two have been especially close with Ravyn. I'm glad she had you guys looking out for her." Him and Shane are instantly sucked into a deep conversation about the later comic books.

Ravyn rolls her eyes as they discuss the finer points of the latest issue of one of their favorite comics. "If I don't stop you guys now we'll be out here until sunrise," she laughs. "Did you come all this way alone?"

He shakes his head, "The other three are at the club. We should probably go find them before they get into any trouble."

Scott walks over to James and pulls the keys to Ravyn's car out of his pocket. He gets behind the wheel of the car with AJ climbing into the passenger seat. Ravyn and Shannon get into the back seat, thrilled to finally be together again.

"Are you ok?" He asks brushing a stray hair out of her face.

"I'm fine," she informs him. "AJ was really good to me."

"Thank you," Shannon says putting a hand on AJ's shoulder. "If I hadn't known better I would have totally bought your act. It was brilliant."

"That's was all Ravyn," AJ admits. "We knew you would be the easy one to convince. It was harder making Vampiro and his goons believe it."

We had to get a little creative a few times," Ravyn tells him. "But it was for the better." Shannon looks at her with a mixture of concern and confusion. She lifts up the side of her shirt to show him AJ's initials scarred into her skin.

"Dude, why would you do that?" Shannon begins to get angry.

"She made me do it!" AJ explains. "I wasn't going to sleep with your girlfriend. And the only way I could keep those other guys away from her was to claim her as mine."

Scott immediately understands, "Thank you. I would have had to kill all of them if it weren't for you. You kept her safe in the only way you could. That means a lot to me and my family."

"Plus I got this neat scar out of it!" Ravyn jokes.

Shannon reaches out to run a finger along the scarred flesh. "Thanks for everything you've done," he finally says. "I'm glad she had you there." Ravyn nestles herself up against him and relaxes while Scott drives to the club.

Ravyn is the first one through the club doors. Her eyes immediately fall on her brothers and sister at the bar. "Ty! Daffney! Lodi!" She squeals running up to them. One brother, Tyler, is built like Shane with long black hair tied back into a ponytail and a well trimmed other, Lodi, a bleached blonde with leather pants and a muscle shirt picks her up and spins her around. As he sets her down Daffney hugs her excitedly.

"Daff, I've got someone you have to meet," she grins. Ravyn drags the dark haired girl back towards the door of the club and introduces her to AJ. She smiles to herself when they hit it off right from the start. She leaves them alone and goes to find the Prince. She finds him sitting alone at Vampiro's table, waiting for her. She slides in next to him and kisses him deeply for the first time in days. He slides closer to her and wraps his arms around her.

"AJ really was good to you wasn't he," he realizes.

"He was," she agrees. "Without him I would have been in a lot of trouble."

"Did it hurt?" He asks about the scar.

"Really bad at first," she nods. "But now it's just a mildly annoying pain."

She felt him gaze across the room, distracted by something. He watches as Corino and Jericho walk into the club. They made their way over to the long table where their two families were sitting. They only spent a few minutes at the table talking to Matt before looking satisfied and leaving the club. Shannon leads her over to the table where they sit between Matt and Scott.

Matt laughs, "Prince, you just missed the most ridiculous conversation. Corino and Jericho came here to tell me that they were ready to take action against Vampiro. They asked how we wanted them to proceed."

"I told them he wouldn't be a problem anymore," Scott smirks. "Told them he left town when I got here."

"And they believed that?" Ravyn asks in disbelief.

"Of course they did," Scott grins. "Then they mumbled something about 'remember the Masquerade' and walked out."

The table bursts into laughter finally able to relax. They didn't know each other terribly well yet, but they could tell that they would get along just fine. Ravyn knew they'd all be able to work together under The Masquerade.


End file.
